At the urging of the Cook County Chamber of Commerce, Grand Marais city councilors directed City Administrator Mike Roth to find out what it would cost to convert unused space in City Hall into more public restroom facilities at their meeting Sept. 24.
The discussion was prompted by a letter written to council by Chamber Director Jim Boyd after the Chamber’s board passed a motion at its September meeting to support “construction and maintenance of more public bathrooms in Grand Marais.”
The topic has been an ongoing issue over the years, particularly during events such as the North Shore Dragon Boat Festival and Fisherman’s Picnic, when the large number of visitors causes waiting lines at the public toilets at City Hall and necessitates the need for temporary satellite toilets. Downtown business owners have also complained about visitors coming in and asking to use their restrooms, which either don’t exist or are inadequate to meet the demand.
“We hope you will agree that allowing this issue to continue to fester is not wise policy for a city that owes its livelihood to its ability to attract and charm visitors. The warm feelings that Grand Marais evokes in visitors should be emotional, not physical,” Boyd wrote.
“The cost of constructing and maintaining additional modern, attractive public toilets – as well as updating the existing facility – will be substantial. The Chamber believes this is a cost the city should be willing to bear,” said Boyd. “After many years of intermittent discussion, we hope you will agree that it is time finally to solve this problem. Grand Marais needs visitors to its downtown. Those visitors need toilets. The city is best positioned to provide them,” Boyd concluded.
Councilor Bill Lenz said he didn’t like some of the things that were said in the letter, but acknowledged that the city “did have an opportunity we did not have before” in reference to the fact that the large section of City Hall now occupied by the Visitor’s Bureau will be vacated soon. There is other unused space in the building as well.
Mayor Larry Carlson said the creation of more public restrooms was on the city’s list of priorities, and agreed with Lenz that regardless of whether the city has the funds to pursue the project now, council can at least start the process by getting a quote and finding out what the cost is likely to be.
“It [estimate] may be such that we don’t do it, and say ‘no way,’” Lenz said, noting that the expected high cost may turn out to be considerably less. Roth has expressed concerns in the past about the expense of building bathrooms, citing the $450,000 price tag on a bathhouse that was built at the Rec Park about 10 years ago.
Roth cautioned that although the facilities being considered at City Hall will likely involve renovations rather than construction of a standalone building, it is possible that cost will be substantial. “It may be that nothing is usable except the walls,” he said.
Roth also said that coming up with an accurate estimate may itself be an expense. “We’ll have to do some work…we can’t just bring a contractor in and say, ‘What do you think it will cost to put in bathrooms?’”
But Linda Kratt of the Cook County Visitors Bureau, whose agency is in the process of relocating into a renovated building (the former Gunflint Realty), encouraged council to seek a quote on the work, noting that she paid only $500 for an estimate on her project and it was “spot-on.” “It may not be as expensive as you think,” she said.
Kratt also spoke of the need for public restrooms, saying the waiting lines at existing stalls at City Hall on days such as July 4 are an “embarrassment” to the city. “We definitely need to do something,” she said, adding that she doesn’t believe there are many tourist-dependent cities that have such a shortage of public facilities as does Grand Marais.
Mayor Carlson said that nobody disagrees about the need for more restroom facilities, but pointed out that any renovations to City Hall may just be a stopgap measure and not a longterm solution, as other uses for the building are also being considered. “But I think we’re on the right track now,” the mayor said.
Roth said he would begin preparing an estimate for the construction costs and report back to council at a future meeting.
In other business:
. Council approved a street use permit for the Visitors Bureau annual Christmas parade beginning at 5 p.m. Nov. 28. As usual, participants in “Oh Ole Night” will stage at the Senior Center on Broadway, move down Broadway to Wisconsin Street and proceed up First Avenue.
. Councilor Jan Sivertson noted that there were some parking issues during the “Unplugged” event at North House Folk School. Details were not discussed.
. Councilor and Public Utilities Commission board memberTimKennedyreportedthata2percent increase in rates for next year looks likely, with some of the dollars being available for a proposed public works facility.
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